Britt Robertson is starring on a new show, The Secret Circle. Based on the books by The Vampire DiariesL.J. Smith and produced by Kevin Williamson, who also worked on the vampiric show, Secret Circle already has a bewitching fan base before its even on air. Last week Robertson was driving to the set at 3 PM for an evening shoot. She had a new movie opening and wanted to get the word out, so through the crackle of her cell phone we got an interview.

The Family Tree is an edgy indie dramedy about the Burnett family. Robertson plays Kelly Burnett, a provocative teenager who uses profanity to push her mothers buttons. She even takes off her shirt at the breakfast table, though classily this scene is filmed from behind. Mrs. Burnett has an accident that gives her amnesia, so while the family deals with that drama, Kelly also gets involved with a fellow student and teachers secret relationship.

Robertson has been playing teenagers for some time, even though shes now 21. Shes got one of those faces that still passes for 16, which can be an asset in casting calls. Her most visible role has been as Lux Cassidy on The CWs drama Life Unexpected, which lasted two years. She also had a cameo in this years Scream 4.

On The Secret Circle, she plays Cassie Blake, who moves to the town of Chance Harbor after her moms death. There, the children of the other five witch families try to expose her to the secret past from which her mother always tried to protect her. Five episodes into her new show, this is still a new world for Robertson, so after discussing her new movie we caught up on the witchcraft of The Secret Circle.

SuicideGirls: When did you shoot The Family Tree? During Life Unexpected?

Britt Robertson: No, it was actually a long time ago. I turned 18 on the film. So its been quite a while now.

SG: Even though youre in your 20s now, youve gotten to play a lot of teenagers and theyre all so different. Even in their look, like Kelly has straight hair and dark eyes.

BR: Yeah, exactly. Well, it was interesting when I did this film because it was the first time Id actually gotten to play my age. I was so used to playing younger. When I booked this role, I was like, No way! because I was actually supposed to play 18 in the movie and I hadnt even turned 18 yet. So it was my first opportunity to play someone who was actually older than I was on the time, a cool opportunity to do something new and different with my look. The wardrobe designer, Kelle Kutsugeras, was so great and she had such a vision for my character as well as all the hair and makeup people because they just wanted to give her a very different and cool style where you could feel that she was outspoken by just looking at her. My character Kelly very much expresses herself with her look.

SG: Do you look for that in roles, even if theyre similar ages, that you can make them look different and be different?

BR: Yeah, I think its important for me at this point in my life as well as then, when you have a career that spans over a few years and youre constantly playing teenagers, you dont want to just play the same old bratty role or look the same. You dont want an audience to get tired of you so I think that its always important to find an individual style for your character just so an audience can identify with you as that person as opposed to the last character they may have seen you as.

SG: Kelly is a very edgy teenager. Have you ever been asked to play something you were not comfortable with?

BR: Not really. Sets are a funny place. You always feel like people think its real life and youre actually experiencing these things. Even make-out scenes and heavy sexual scenes, everyones like, Oh wow, how romantic but theyre actually the most unromantic, non-glamorous environment. There are grips everywhere and its hot. They make it so that its such a comfortable environment, its all your friends and its never what you see it to be on screen. For me, the workplace is what it is. Thats where I go every day and I do my job. Ive never been put in the position where I feel uncomfortable at all. Not saying that that isnt going to happen, but at this point it hasnt.

SG: Could you ever imagine taking off your shirt in front of your family like Kelly does?

BR: No. No, I could not. Its so funny, I went to a film festival last year for The Family Tree and my grandparents went to see the movie and I couldnt sit with them because I was like this is a little too much for me. I couldnt even be in the same room while they were just watching my back. I obviously dont get topless in the film but there is a lot of suggestive behavior, so I was not comfortable with that. Its such a funny moment in the film and it just totally shows you who that character is, that shes the type of girl who would do something like that just to make a statement. So I think it really shows you who she is and Im very different from that, thats for sure.

SG: With the language too, what did your grandparents think of the film?

BR: At this point, they just learn to accept every project that I do as a project of its own. Ultimately Im sure they enjoyed it.

SG: I was wondering if The Family Tree was a way to be seen as not so innocent as Lux, but was it actually the reverse where you played Lux after this movie and wanted to play someone more innocent?

BR: I think when I did Life Unexpected, it was just such a great opportunity to build a character in a television setting, to be part of a show that was so well written. I really connected with that character and I thought that she had so much depth and there was so much more to her than what the eye would typically see. When you first see her, you see her as this innocent young girl who hasnt really been through a lot but then as the series progressed, you realize that she actually isnt so innocent and she isnt nave to a lot of the world and is in fact a little more mature than her parents. So I thought that that was such a great challenge because I was able to play a little young girl who definitely wasnt the character I play in The Family Tree but also it was a great opportunity to build on that character and see what more she had to offer. Ultimately, the writers gave me that. They gave me so many different opportunities to develop as a young actress.

SG: Is Cassie on The Secret Circle a senior in high school?

BR: They havent really defined her age but shes more like I think a junior in high school.

SG: So you could still be in high school for a while, even though youre 21.

BR: True, its very true. But its funny because when I go out, constantly people, even on airplanes people will be like, Oh, are you traveling alone? Im like yeah and theyre like, How old are you? Im like, Im 21. They say, You look like youre 13. Its funny, like Youre 21, how are you playing so young? versus This girl shouldnt even be playing high school. She should be back in middle school. For me, Ive pretty much taken it upon myself to put myself in a position where people feel a little bit more comfortable with me as a 16-year-old as opposed to a 26-year-old because its just not realistic. I look so much younger than I am and I doubt Im going to be playing characters in their 20s for a

little while. Ive come to terms with that. Its pretty funny.

SG: Will Cassie change her look as she develops more power?

BR: Its possible. The great thing about the supernatural world is things are constantly changing. The world as you know it is evolving always so my character could change drastically from one day to the next, or she could stay the same and keep to her roots. I guess thats the fun part about it is I never know what Im going to get.

SG: Does playing a witch make you feel powerful?

BR: It doesnt make me personally feel powerful but I think it gives me a lot to do in the show. It never gets old, my character on this show. There are so many new things that Im able to develop and work with and new things that Im learning and constantly challenging myself. I think just as a normal human being, its cool to be able to play with all these elements, but its not like I come home and expect to be able to move water by myself or anything.

SG: Could The Secret Circle get into any real Wicca mythology?

BR: Its possible. I think our writers are really trying to make it as real as possible and I think theyre trying to add a mythology thats different from The Vampire Diaries or anything else that youve seen on television so that it can really be a new show and become its own identity so you arent confused as to if its linked with any other show. I think were really trying to define who we are as a separate show from all the other supernatural shows. I think they are adding elements of Wiccan mythology if you will, but thats not really my department. Thats a whole other bag of tricks that Im just trying to figure out as I go along.

SG: I know youre not the writer, but its an interesting possibility. How far into the show are you shooting?

BR: Right now we are on episode 5. We just started episode 5.

SG: Having also done Scream 4, did you have an interest in horror?

BR: I did. Doing Scream 4 was really my first touch with any genre type world. So it was such a brief encounter. I only worked on the film for two days so it was such a short-lived project for me. It sort of left me thinking, Could there be more for this in my life? or What exactly is this world? When this opportunity came along to work with Kevin again, it was such a great opportunity and I thought it would be such a fun thing and a challenge as an actress to be able to do something completely different from my character in Life Unexpected and work in this genre type world again.

SG: Does Cassie have sort of a reverse of Twilight because she and Adam (Thomas Dekker) have a natural connection, but they're trying to resist because Adam's dating her best friend?

BR: Exactly. Theres something to be had about two people who were meant for each other but theyll never be able to be together. I think between the yearning and the lust for that relationship, its really going to intrigue an audience and want to watch how their relationship develops and if it develops.

SG: What interaction have you had with Secret Circle fans so far?

BR: We went to Comic-Con which was really cool. Our show hasnt even aired yet, so just to have fans at all and people who are excited about the show is really cool. I was overwhelmed at the amount of people that came to our panel. We had 2000 people at our panel and I was like they havent even seen our show, why are they here, why do they even care about us? Its so great just to have that fan base from the books and then also Kevins fan base alone, people who follow what he does and are interested in what he has to offer furthermore.

SG: How overwhelmed do you get with fan questions on Twitter?

BR: Theres the occasional Twitter. Its fun. Right now its not overwhelming at all. If anything, its just flattering and its great to know that were working towards something. Were just trying to make the fans happen and make a show that people will enjoy watching.

SG: When did you change Brittany to Britt?

BR: That was a weird change. Basically, no one really calls me Brittany. No ones ever really called me Brittany except for myself sometimes when Im speaking in the third person. My familys always called me B and my representatives always call me Britt. It was a strange thing when fans started calling me Brittany. It was just a weird disconnect. My manager came up to me one day because actually the director of Dan in Real Life had asked him if Id ever thought about changing my name. My manager was like, Well, no, we dont really want to worry about it. Then finally my manager was like, Maybe you should change your name. I was like, Whatever, dude. Just let me know what you want to do. He was like, What do you feel about Britt? I was like, Its just a name. People are going to call me Britt, people are going to call me Brittany, people are going to call me B. Theyll call me whatever they want to call me regardless of what Im credited as so whatever you think is going to be best for me in the future is great. So we just made the change. Ill go by whatever you want to call me, but I think were sticking with Britt for now just because there are so many Brittanys out there. It was the most popular name the year I was born so I think my manager was just trying to separate me a little bit.

SG: It seems like its worked out for you.

BR: Yeah, I guess so.

The Family Tree is now playing. The Secret Circle premiers Thursday, September 15 at 9PM.